Getting started in Where Winds Meet can feel overwhelming, especially with how much freedom the game gives you from the moment you finish the intro. This guide breaks everything down into clear steps so new players can get their first mount, unlock hidden abilities, and power up fast without missing important tools the game never directly points out.
Understanding What Kind of Game You’re Jumping Into
Where Winds Meet is an open-world action RPG with full freedom to choose your own play style. You can focus on the story as a solo adventure, search for hidden mysteries, take on high-level bosses, or play cooperatively with other players.
The world reacts to your choices. Go full outlaw and you’ll have bounty hunters chasing you. Become a healer and you’ll be fixing sick NPCs. The game lets you approach everything however you want, which is why getting the right early upgrades makes a huge difference.
Step 1: Getting Your First Mount Fast
A mount is the first thing you should get after the prologue, and there are two ways to do it:
Semi-Illegal Method
- Walk along the dirt road near the starting area.
- Wait for a traveler on horseback.
- Kick them off and ride away.
- Open the radial menu to summon the horse afterward.
It’s simple and fast, but risky if someone reports you.
Legal Method
- Cross the river just north of the starting point.
- Find a wild horse and crouch to sneak up.
- Complete the taming mini-game successfully.
- Go to the mount management menu to change appearance, free horses, or sell extras.
Either way, you’ll get a reliable mount early, and selling wild horses can be a good early-game money-maker.
Step 2: Unlocking Your First Extra Weapon Type
After heading northwest from the starting point, you’ll find the Oddity Collector buried under rocks. Free him and he’ll let you choose one out of four advanced weapons:
- Panacea Fan – Fast, mid-range, includes healing
- Thundercry Blade – Slow, heavy, huge damage on charge
- Infernal Twin Blades – Fast, agile, mobility-focused
- Umbrella – Mixes airborne attacks and ranged strikes, plus auto-target support
Choose carefully because you won’t be able to learn the others until later in the game.
Step 3: Getting Your First Hidden Ability – Touch of Death
Go south from the Oddity Collector to the ruins. Start the quest at the entrance, clear the enemies, and follow the clues:
- Only light the torches marked in red.
- Use the air-drop move on the pressure plate.
- Enter the underground area to obtain Touch of Death, your stealth takedown skill.
A useful trick: double-jump before using Touch of Death to activate it from further away.
Step 4: Early Gameplay Tricks You Should Know
Here are important mechanics players often miss:
Wind Sense Item Requests
Target an NPC while using Wind Sense, highlight what they’re holding, and request or seize it. Sometimes they’ll hand over valuable items for free.
Divine Craft Fire
Once you unlock your talent tree, you’ll get fire oil. You can farm it from large torches and use it to auto-apply flame to your weapon at the start of combat. Turn auto-use off if you want to save it for harder fights.
Weapon Secondary Attacks
Two nodes into your talent tree unlock your weapon’s alternate attack. Each weapon type has a unique powerful move, such as rapid hits or immobilizing thrusts.
Deflect Timing
Blocks and deflects are different buttons. Hold block and tap deflect to learn the timing safely. Only deflect when you see the second, brighter red flash.
Healing Flask Upgrades
Turn in medicine chest upgrade items at clinics to boost flask strength and charges.
Healing Sick NPCs
Some NPCs are injured or sick. Healing them through the “ailment battle” grants good rewards and XP.
Bamboo Farming for XP
Cutting bamboo gives materials and free XP. A good early-game leveling trick.
Wall Running
You can run up most surfaces, even cliffs. Don’t waste time looking for paths—just sprint and climb.
Step 5: More Hidden Interactions and Loot
- Stone structures with nothing in front can be opened by using Wind Sense to find pressure plates.
- Red mushrooms indicate a collectible floating above—jump into the glow to grab it.
- Turn these micro-puzzles in to the Oddity Collector to unlock character upgrades.
Step 6: Upgrading Your Character the Smart Way
Enhance Gear
Upgrade your weapons and armor at any time using basic materials. Vendors sell most of what you’ll need early on.
Martial Arts Upgrades
Improve each weapon’s active abilities to boost damage and unlock new modifiers.
Mystic Arts Upgrades
Look for green arrows on your mystic arts list. These can be individually upgraded for better effects.
Quick Enhance
Use this option to instantly upgrade everything you’re able to.
Passive Exploration Skills
Your exploration attributes (perception, intelligence, musicality, etc.) level up as you explore, unlocking permanent passives. You can even learn to speak with some animals later on.
Step 7: Must-Grab Early Abilities
Cloud Steps
Go to the small town near the General Shrines waypoint and complete the underground fire puzzle to unlock this traversal skill. It lets you grapple to special points and leap into powerful aerial attacks.
Reveal the Map
Find bonfires marked on the map. Speak to the Wayfarer to reveal that entire region.
Heavenly Snatch
Found in the western village. This lets you:
- Pick items from a distance
- Loot multiple objects at once
- Steal items directly from NPCs
- Temporarily steal weapons from enemies or bosses
Meridian Touch
Southwest of Stonewash Strand. This ability cures NPCs or applies effects like immobilize. In combat, it stuns enemies briefly.
Veil of Stillness
Learned from the Skill Theft: Unneeded Lesson quest. Greatly boosts stealth and pairs perfectly with Touch of Death.
Afterglow Pendant
Earned from reaching level 4 of regional exploration. This unlocks new traversal options and is needed for another major skill.
Shadow Dash
Return to the Oddity Collector with the required collectibles. This gives you a fast sprint that even outpaces mounts.
Meteor Flight
Talk to the fisherman west of the region after getting the Afterglow Pendant. This skill launches you into the air for long glides across the map.
Step 8: Joining a Sect
Opening the sect menu shows every sect in the game and where to find them. Each one specializes in different weapon types, so join the sect that matches the combat style you want. Each sect also has its own rules you must follow once you join.
Where Winds Meet offers an enormous world filled with secrets, abilities, weapons, traversal skills, and character builds. This guide covers the most important early steps, but it’s only a fraction of what the game offers. Whether you want to explore, fight, heal, or steal, the game lets you play however you want. Jump in, grab your first mount, unlock the key abilities above, and start carving out your own path across the world.